Crowdfunding Part 2—How to Crowd Surf

Last week we gave you all of the pros, cons and crowdfunding inspiration you needed to kick-off your very first (or fine-tune your next) crowdfunding campaign. You are now equipped with the understanding and direction you need—now what do you do?

Time to get those ideas into motion and launch your campaign! These tips, how to’s, what not to’s and step-by-step articles will lead you in your planning, launch, implementation and ultimately successful crowdfunding campaign. Get ready to crowd surf!

Kickstarter vs. Indiegogo. The Crowdfunding(Crowdfund Beat): Crowdfund Beat takes a look at the top five crowdfunding platforms and narrows down to the two most popular—Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Take a look at this battle breakdown to determine which one is best for you and your campaign.

5 Ways to Build and Activate a Community for Your Crowdfunding Campaign(Beth Kanter Blog): It’s not enough just to have an idea and launch it as a crowdfunding campaign. You have to get your community involved and portray the importance and impact that the campaign will have. Tell your story and make your call to action feasible for donors of ALL sizes.

11 Essential Ingredients Every Crowdfunding Campaign Needs [Infographic] (National Crowdfunding Association of Canada): Choosing a campaign, a crowdfund platform and laying out your story doesn’t a successful crowdfunding campaign make. There’s much more that goes into it – like these 11 essential steps for the pre-, middle and post-periods of a crowdfund campaign. Make sure you start with a catchy title and end with a heartfelt thank you.

Best Practices: Crowdfunding for Good(Crowdster): Before you launch your crowdfunding campaign you should have all of your online public relations set up. You should have social media accounts created, a blog posted, a hashtag configured and email templates designed—all revolving around your campaign. Then, once you launch, make sure the link you publish goes straight to your crowdfunding campaign, NOT through your website.

10 Steps to a Successful Online Donations Fundraiser(Rewarding Fundraising Ideas): A HUGE aspect of your crowdfunding campaign is your donation webpage. Without a seamless donation page you could be losing valuable donations for your campaign. Follow these 10 steps (there’s even a handy-dandy print-out that you can post in your office as a reminder!) to ensure a successful online fundraising page.

Crowdfunding Promotions Success Guide(Crowdfunding Campaign Promotion): There are several factors that make crowdfunding a success, but the most prominent factor is PROMOTION. Video presentation, word of mouth and follow up are some of your most powerful weapons in conducting a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Crowdfunding Can Be Really Effective—If You Know What You’re Doing(Entrepreneur): The most common complaint in a crowdfunding campaign is, “I built it, but they did not come.” Crowdfunding is hard work and not every campaign will be successful. You need to determine if your idea or product is worth crowdfunding for—if it’s something that will excite people! The highest level of successful crowdfunding campaigns are for gadgets, video games and films—is your project that exciting?

How to Find Your Crowdfunding Market(Crowd Clan): The beauty of a crowdfunding campaign is that it’s entirely online, which allows you to reach much further outside your typically fundraising area. With online access your crowdfunding campaign has the potential to tap into the international marketplace. However, your campaign will likely not appeal to everyone, so hone your audience and tailor your campaign accordingly.

A Guide to Crowdfunding Success for Nonprofits (Community Tech): This one’s for the little guys, for the small nonprofits with limited staff and resources. You too can launch a successful crowdfunding campaign! But why should you? And where do you start? And how do you create a platform? This article has you covered—the explanation of why, the three platform options and the six tips to walk you through!

The Power of the Crowd(Imagine Canada): Online crowdfunding may be a new trend, but tapping crowds of people to raise funds isn’t exactly an entirely new concept. The old tricks to “harnessing the power of an extremely large audience of very small donors” still apply today. Luckily, those tricks spread like wildfire with a new-age assistant: the Internet. Take a note from the past and apply it to the present!